The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion

Chapter 72: The Green Cloud is Particularly Domineering

"Sister Lin's complexion looked ruddy at your birthday party this time. I heard that ever since you practiced the set of fitness exercises, you have been eating well for your three meals."

"En."

"The widowed granny is always a little evasive to me for some reason. Could it be that she is looking down on me?"

"Oh."

After coming out of the Rongguo Mansion, Sun Shaozong was resting on Ruan Rong's lap and was full of thoughts about the evening party. The nagging Ruan Rong naturally went in through his left ear and out from his right ear, and he only responded casually.

When talking about things in this world, one really doesn't know if they don't check it. However, once checked, they will be surprised!

Guangde recruited a total of 127 martial scholars in the eighth year. It was only a year and seven months since the list was published, but there have been many "capable people,” those who embezzled military grain, those who were captured alive by Japanese pirates, those who provoked civil commotion, and those who flirted with good family women…

In a year and a half, more than a dozen people were sacked, and four were sentenced to be beheaded. It could definitely be called the best of martial scholars in the past!

Of course, this was not without positive figures. For example, Xu Tai, who ranked second in the first class Imperial examination, became a County Magistrate in a County on the southeast coast because he became a civilian. When he encountered Japanese pirates coming ashore and looting last autumn, he led strong citizens to fight back the Japanese pirates, killing and capturing 17 real Japanese pirates, more than 100 fake Japanese pirates, and capturing three warships.

Xu Tai became famous for this, and now he has been promoted from the fifth grade Chief of a Prefecture to the highest rank in the same term [because the low-level military position was really not worth much when compared with civil servants thus, always has to subtract the first and second grades before calculating].

However, when it comes to real power, Xu Tai, the Prefecture Magistrate, only ranks second.

It was recognized that the one with real power was not the number one in national civil examinations, not the number three in the national civil examinations, and it was definitely not Sun Shaozong, who was the "Divine Judgement Assistant Prefectural Magistrate.” It was Zhu Peng, who was No. 9 in the second class at the beginning. He was also transferred to the civil service and was holding the post of an eighth-grade official in charge of reconnaissance and audit work, and in addition, the official responsible for supervision in the Department of Political Integrity in the Ministry of Revenue.

If one was speaking solemnly about official rank, this official in the Ministry of Revenue was naturally far inferior to the Prefectural Magistrate.

However, the Ministry of Revenue of this official office was directly led by the Minister of Commerce, and it has the right to assess the merits and demerits of the Ministry of Revenue and audit its accounts. It has a proper position of inferiority and weight. Through the control of the Department of Political Integrity, the influence could even be radiated to the whole country.

Under normal circumstances, not to say a military scholar who has been transferred to the civil service, without any connections, one didn’t need to think of the position even if the person was a civil scholar.

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The reason why Zhu Peng was able to take up the post of the Official in the Ministry of Revenue Affairs was that he married the only daughter of Wang Guangzu, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Affairs, while he was waiting for the election of an official position. Wasn’t it a matter of time as he has gotten the favor of the “Heavenly officials” and got a position of inferiority and weight?

It was for this reason that Zhu Peng was almost being respected in the same year of scholars in the Capital, both civil and military. Even this so-called same-year party was organized by him.

However…

There was a rumor that the Minister's daughter used to hang out with a manservant, and was already pregnant before she got married, so she had to give up her original engagement and marry this "cheap" Zhu Peng, who had no background.

Sun Shaozong was wondering whether the official hat on Zhu Zhao's head was the "color of forgiving.” It was at this time that he was suddenly pinched by two slender jade fingers and rotated 90 degrees painlessly.

"Ouch! Don't, don't, don't, turn it again and it will fall off!"

Sun Shaozong gave an exaggerated cry, raised his head to meet Ruan Rong's dissatisfied eyes, and said with a smile, "What's the matter? Where did I offend my wife again?"

"I'm not a wife."

Ruan Rong's cherry lips pouted, and she immediately let go of Sun Shaozong's ears. She poked a finger on his forehead and asked, "Are you going to marry the young sister of the Shi family?"

"What young sister of the Shi family?"

Seeing Sun Shaozong's blank face, Ruan Rong had to repeat what she had just said.

It turned out that when Lin Daiyu was celebrating her birthday at noon, the wife of Marquis Zhongjing, Shi Ding, also came to congratulate her, and hearing that Sun Shaozong's concubine was also there, she specially called Ruan Rong and asked about a lot of things in the Sun's Mansion.

Speaking of this, Ruan Rong said with a little jealousy, "Looking at her being so interested, ten out of ten she is thinking of giving her niece to you!"

Looking at her jealous little appearance, Sun Shaozong hurriedly stretched out his hand and grabbed Ruan Rong's shoulder, intending to say a few words of self-care to comfort her.

Before he could speak, Ruan Rong sighed again, "You will need to marry the main hostess to your family, and Sister Xiangyun looks honest and cheerful. If you can marry her, it will save a lot of trouble."

Sun Shaozong was moved by her thoughts. Although the Shi family was a double Marquis and has little power, they were also famous in officialdom.

Besides, Shi Jue has a lot of old acquaintances and students in the army, and now he was also in real power…

Thinking of this, he couldn't help asking. "What does Shi Xiangyun look like? Compared to... Second Sister-in-law Lian?"

"Well..."

Ruan Rong thought carefully for a moment and said, "Sister Xiangyun hasn't grown up after all. She's naturally not as enchanting and charming as the Second Sister-in-Law Lian, but I can see that she's also a beauty, so she may be..."

"Wait!"

Before Ruan Rong finished speaking, Sun Shaozong changed his face and said, "What do you mean that she hasn't grown up yet? How old is she this year?"

"About a few months younger than Daiyu, and now she is not even twelve."

The fck!*

Sun Shaozong immediately felt like a deflated ball. He threw his head back on Ruan Rong's lap and said feebly, "She's so small, when can I get to marry her and take her home as a wife?"

"What?"

Ruan Rong pretended to be dissatisfied and asked, "It seems like my husband is eager to marry a legal wife?"

"How can it be! I just..."

Sun Shaozong was waiting to distinguish, but he suddenly felt that the carriage under him shook and stopped slowly.

Are we home already?

Just in doubt, he heard a high-pitched voice outside, "Is it Brother Shaozong's carriage in front?"

Sun Shaozong picked up the curtain of the carriage and looked around, and he saw five or six riders standing horizontally in front of the carriage. The tall and handsome man who led was holding a gilt whip in his hand. He sat lazily on the horse, inclined to despise the carriage, and his face was full of arrogance.

What kind of bird man was this?

Sun Shaozong was looking at him and frowning. He heard the guy laugh a few times and said with teasing, "Brother Shaozong, you are so forgetful that you probably don't recognize me, Zhu Peng?"

Zhu Peng?

Sun Shaozong looked at the big red cap clasp and tassel on his head and automatically imagined it as miserable green. At the same time, he stretched out his hand to press on the shaft, jumped out of the carriage lightly, arched his hand, and said with a smile, "Brother Zhu is so rich and powerful that I naturally dare not recognize you casually. What advice does Brother Zhu have that you stopped my carriage?"

Zhu Peng howled over his horse and then turned over and dismounted. He then said casually, "It’s not a piece of advice. Brother Sun is the guest of honor today. I'm afraid it's inappropriate to be late, so as the host, I specially came to meet you first. Since I happened to meet you on the way, how about we head over now?"

Coincidentally?

Looking at the direction this guy came from, he knew that he had already been to the Sun Mansion, and then he waited, especially on the road he would pass through. What “coincidence” could it be?

At present, there was still an hour or so before the party starts. Sun Shaozong was not interested in accompanying such an arrogant bird to the restaurant to warm up the atmosphere.

So he lightly refused and said, "It’s so kind of Brother Zhu. I should have followed your suggestion, but there are still women in my carriage, and I'm afraid it's inconvenient..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Peng blurted out with bright eyes, "Is the woman in your carriage the red-haired concubine brought back by Brother Sun from the Kingdom of Qian Xiang?"

If it's just a familiar friend, that’s still alright, but how can he, a nobody, ask such a thing?

Therefore, Sun Shaozong's face immediately sank. Zhu Peng also knew that he was being reckless, but he didn't apologize. Instead, he laughed and changed the topic, pointing at his back and saying, "Brother Sun can accompany your female family member back to the house first. I'll leave a good horse here for you to ride instead of walking."

Seeing that this guy was so entangled, Sun Shaozong was raging at the bottom of his heart and walked around him with a calm face toward his attendants.

One of the healthy servants quickly turned over and dismounted, handed over the reins to Sun Shaozong, and said, "Lord Sun, you can ride my horse."

Sun Shaozong ignored it, put his hands on the horse's back, and then suddenly pressed down!

"Whinnied!!!"

He then heard the Bluish White Horse hissing miserably, kneeling on his knees, and couldn't stand up for a moment!

Sun Shaozong pushed again with one hand, and the big black horse next to him kicked sideways for a few steps and fell on the roadside with a bang.

In the dull eyes of several attendants, Sun Shaozong turned around and arched his hands at Zhu Peng, laughing, "My bones are heavy and tight. I'm afraid your horses can't handle my weight. I'd better go back to the house and change my mount. It is not too late to head over to the banquet then."

With that, he got in his carriage and went off.

Seeing his carriage disappear at the corner of the street, Zhu Peng finally came to his senses. Looking at the Bluish White Horse that still couldn't stand up, he couldn't help muttering, "This guy didn't take some miraculous medicine in the Kingdom of Qian Xiang, otherwise, how could he get so much stronger than two years ago?"